Return To London
by EdithMalfoy
Summary: Edith has come back after 10 years away. Where has she been? What all has changed?
1. Chapter 1

Edith sat at the desk in her office as she edited an article that was to appear in the next week's edition of The Sketch. She was glad to be back in London after leaving all those years ago. She could still remember the day her mother and aunt came to London to try and get her back home. But she refused. She needed to be with Marigold and going back to Downton just didn't seem like the right thing to do. So that night she took Marigold with her to Wales to start her life anew. Of course she knew she couldn't stay away forever so a week before Edith packed her family up and moved to London.

Her husband hadn't minded. In fact he was fond of the idea as long as she promised to let her family know. But he never pushed her to do things so she had planned to delay that particular chore as long as she could.

Ellis Maddox was a good husband to Edith and she was very greatful to have met a man as kind as he was. She smiled as she finished editing thinking about her husband. When they had met each other he had immediately realized that Marigold was hers and with no husband he simply smiled at her and took her in under his wing. He taught her Welsh and in turn Marigold. He was the best father to her daughter. Always there for her and never letting on that she wasn't his.

As Edith thought of her husband and eldest daughter her secretary entered the room.

"There is someone to see you ma'am." she told her.

Edith nodded at her. "Let them in." she said.

She looked up and gasped as her Aunt Rosamund entered her office and shut the door behind her.

Rosamund looked at her niece and smirked. "So the prodigal daughter has returned." she said as more of a statement then a question.

Edith sighed. "Aunt Rosamund. How are you?" she asked not really ready to deal with her relation.

Rosamund snorted. "Well my niece has been gone for 10 years. My brother and his wife have been inconsolable since. My other niece has been married since but they divorced after the youngest was born. Tom Branson and Sybbie have been gone for nearly as long. Oh and my mother is dead. Now tell me Edith Crawley how am I." she stated.

Edith sighed unsure of what to say. "It's Edith Maddox now." she said.

Rosamund nodded. "I see. And your daughter?"

Edith pursed her lips. "She's 11 years old now and adores her step-father to pieces as well as her brothers and sisters." she said.

Rosamund nodded. "Congratulations then. Is Maddox a Welsh name?" she asked.

Edith smiled a bit and nodded. "Yes. I ran away to Wales that night. We got married a year later after our eldest son was born. He's 10 years old in a few months." She said.

Rosamund grimaced. "Another child out of wedlock then?" she asked with disgust evident in her voice.

Edith glared at her aunt. "Is there a reason for this visit?" she hissed.

Rosamund raised an eyebrow. "I heard the editor was back and came to invite you to dinner at Grantham House. You see Mrs. Maddox, the whole family will be there and it would be nice for them to see their daughter after 10 years. Your whole family is naturally invited. Be there before 6 dear." she said before leaving the office. She didn't even bother to ask if she would go or how many children she had as she left the building.

Edith sighed after her aunt left. Now she certainly couldn't delay seeing her family. But first she needed to tell Ellis as soon as possible.

So Edith finished editing and left the office. She went to Soho to were her family lived and walked into their house to see three little boys wrestling while four little girls watched and giggled as they cheered on their brothers.

Edith laughed at her rowdy boys before going over to her amused husband and kissing his cheek. "Ellis my aunt has invited us to dinner." she whispered in his ear. He smiled at his wife and nodded once before going to grab their 3 year old son from the pile of boys.

(This is AU from the point where Cora and Rosamund went to London to retrieve Edith and Marigold. All recognizable characters, places, and events belong to Julienne Fellows. Please Read and Review! I will update once a week!)


	2. Chapter 2

After about an hour the two older boys stopped wrestling and went and greeted their mother.

Her eldest son, Andreas, gave her a kiss on the cheek as he was far to old for hugs. At least he thought so anyways. Edith chuckled and kissed his cheek back as her 8 year old son, Owen, hugged and kissed her in greeting. He didn't understand why his big brother didn't hug their mother anymore as he didn't think you could ever be to old for a hug from your mama.

Edith smiled as Marigold walked over with her baby sister in her arms and the twins at her heels. Marigold was becoming quite the beautiful young lady and she was such a good girl that Edith could never regret taking her to live with her.

Marigold put the baby in her mother's arms before hugging her.

Edith hugged her back and smiled at the children. "Children I have some exciting news for you all." she said masking her actual displeasure. "This evening we are all going to London to have dinner with my family." she said much to the children's delight.

Marigold looked wide eyed at her mother. "Really mam?" she asked.

Edith nodded. "Yes Mari love we are all going to meet them."

Marigold grinned. She had heard stories of her mother's family and had always wanted to meet them. But she knew it was a sore issue with her mother and never dared to press the issue.

Andreas looked to his father for an idea of how to react to the news. The smile on his father's face made him grin at his mother. "That sounds fun mam!" he exclaimed his brown eyes twinkling with excitement.

Edith smiled at her young son before instructing Marigold and Andreas to help bathe and dress the younger children.

An hour and a half and 7 clean children later Edith and Ellis took their brood to London.

On the way there Catrin and Crystin, the five year old twin girls, found some nice looking muddy puddles and took turns jumping in them. Each time one of their parents or siblings would get them out of the puddles they would simply giggle and go right back to getting messy. Finally after handing Henri to Owen, Ellis picked each twin up one in each arm.

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful and After what felt like ages the family arrived at Grantham House.

The children looked in awe at the large house as they had never seen anything quite like it.

Edith bit her lip at the messy twins unsure what to do about their dresses and shoes. But before she could do anything about it the door opened to show an aged Carson.

Carson looked at the large family in shock then amusement. Lady Rosamund had told the staff that Lady Edith and her family would arrive before 6 but hadn't told the family. But Carson was glad to see Lady Edith back and looking relatively happy.

Edith gave the old butler a strained smile. She wasn't sure how to address him anymore or if he knew they were coming. "Hello Carson. Has my aunt told you I was coming?" she asked.

Carson gave a simple nod. "Lady Rosamund told the staff of your arrival. If you will come right this way." he said leading them through the front door and into the library where two little girls played snakes and ladders.

Edith instructed her family to sit on the couches and chairs.

The two little girls looked up at the newcomers and grinned at the many kids. They hardly had any playmates besides George and hoped these kids could play with them.

The girls walked over to Edith and Ellis and stuck out their hands. "I'm Luella Blake and this is my sister Violet." the taller of the two said.

Edith smiled at the girls. "I'm Edith and this is my husband Ellis and our children." she said to the Mary look-a-like.

Luella gasped. "You're Aunt Edith?! Mummy said you left forevers ago!" she exclaimed.

Edith smiled sadly. "I did leave. And I'm sorry I never visited Luella." she said. "How old are you two?" she asked them.

Luella grinned. "I'm 5 and Violet is 4." she said importantly.

Edith hid the chuckle at the way Luella spoke. It reminded her very much of Mary when they were children. "Well Luella and Violet my twins are 5 years old too. Catrin, Crystin come meet your cousins." she said to the two muddy girls.

Catrin grinned and pulled her twin over to their newly found cousins. "I'm Catrin." she said.

"And I'm Crystin." said her identical twin.

Violet looked shocked at the two girls. They looked exactly alike! They were even dressed the same! She had never meet two people who looked exactly alike before.

Luella smiled at her two new cousins. "Can you play snakes and ladders?" she asked them.

The twins frowned and shook their heads. "No but could you teach us?" they asked as one.

Luella grinned and led the two girls and her sister to the board to play.

Edith watched the girls with a smile. She was glad they had taught the children English as well as Welsh so they could play with their cousins.

As Edith watched the girls her parents walked into the library.

Cora took one look at her daughter with a baby girl in her lap and chocked on a sob. "Edith?" she asked quietly.

Edith looked up and smiled as she stood up. "Yes mama." she said and put Gwenyth on the couch beside Owen and Ellis. She walked over to her teary eyed mother and shell shocked father. "I'm back mama. Papa." she said.

Cora quickly grabbed into her daughter and held her tightly. "Oh Edith! I've missed you so much!" she cried.

Edith held onto her mother just as tightly as she began to cry.

Robert didn't know what to say. But he couldn't stand to lose his daughter again. He looked over at the couches and looked at the man that could only be Edith's husband or beau.

Ellis picked Henri up and walked over to his wife and in-laws. He stuck his free hand out to Robert. "Hello sir. I'm Ellis Maddox. Edith's husband." he said. He lifted Henri up a bit more for Robert to see him. "And this is our youngest son Henri." he said smiling fondly at the little blonde haired boy in his arms.

Robert shook the other man's hand and looked at his little grandson with a smiled. "Hello there little guy." he said.

Henri gave him a toothy smile and Robert chuckled.

After Cora let go of her daughter she turned to Ellis and smiled at the little boy. "He's beautiful Edith. Why didn't you tell us you got married? We would've come to the wedding." she said looking at her daughter for an explanation.

Edith sighed. "Can we not talk about all of that right now?" she asked. "Aunt Rosamund found me at the office and invited us here." she said.

Cora sighed but nodded. "Fine but we will talk about this. And this time you will not run away." she said. "Now introduce us to your family." she said looking around at the children.

Edith rolled her eyes then smiled. "My kids come here." she called. The 6 kids walked over to their parents and grandparents. Although Owen held the baby.

Edith smiled gesturing at the oldest. "This is Marigold Gregson-Maddox. She's 11 years old." she said smiling as her red headed daughter smiled and gave a small curtsey towards her parents. They looked like royalty to the young girl and she knew one had to curtsey to royalty.

Edith then pointed to her blonde son. "This is Andreas Maddox. He's nearly 10 years old." she said as her son copied his sister and gave a bow.

Edith chuckled and pointed to Owen as he held his baby sister. "This is Owen. He's 8 years old and his sister Gwenyth who is 1." Owen simply grinned his cheekiest while his sister sucked her thumb and grinned.

Edith then looked down at her twin girls. "These two muddy girls are Catrin and Crystin. They are 5 year old twins. You must watch out for these two especially when Owen joins them." she said as the girls waved at their grandparents.

Edith then smoothed down her youngest son's blonde curls. "And this is Henri. He's 4 years old." she said. Henri simply grinned as he cuddled against his father.

Cora grinned at each of her grandchildren in turn. She felt like crying as she met each of her grandchildren. She smiled with tears in her eyes at her daughter. "Oh Edith! You have a beautiful family." she gushed.

Robert smiled at the children then looked sternly at her daughter. "Where have you been? Why did you leave? Tell us everything." he said.

Edith sighed. "I will papa."

Just then Carson entered the room and nodded towards Robert.

Robert nodded back. "You can tell us after dinner. Come along everyone." he said before leading his family to the dinning room.

(This is AU from the point where Cora and Rosamund went to London to retrieve Edith and Marigold. All recognizable characters, places, and events belong to Julienne Fellows. Please Read and Review! I will update once a week!)


	3. Chapter 3

(so sorry for the lateness of this! School and work have caught up with me and have kept me extremely busy. I will post as much as I can.)

Once the family was settled in the dinning room. Including the little ones. The footmen began to serve the food. Ellis and his children were astonished by the service. Ellis knew his wife grew up privileged but to have your dinner served to you was one thing he had never imagined

Mary hadn't arrived at the table and Edith looked around in worry. Where could you older sister be? Surely she was staying with her daughters.

Just as Edith thought about her sister's absence she heard the door opened and saw Mary with a nearly teenage George enter the room.

Mary looked gobsmacked at the sight of her sister and an unknown man with extra children at the table. She quickly concluded that the children were Edith's as they all resembled her in some way or another. Mary sat down between her daughters while George sat in between two of his cousins.

He recognized his aunt just barely and thought it was cool that he had some boys to play with. Little girls could be awfully obnoxious. Especially when they demanded to play with their dolls.

Mary looked to her sister and frowned. "So the runaway has returned." she said with much less bite than what she usually used when speaking to her younger sister. She had realized just how much she loved her sister after she had left. When her mother had explained why she had left she had been angry with herself for the way she had treated her sister. But even though she was glad to have her sister back home she was still angry with her for leaving. Did she realize the pain she had caused everyone?

Edith took a deep breath before speaking. She had noticed the less hurtful tone her sister had used but she was still unsure about where they stood. "Yes Mary. I am back. Although I'm only here for dinner but it seems Aunt Rosamund is disgusted with me to the point where she won't eat at the same table as me." she said. She wanted to make sure her family knew she wouldn't be living with them. She wasn't even sure if she would visit with them again.

Mary gave her sister a pained look at the implication that she would be staying with them. She couldn't bear to lose her again. Neither could their parents. "Why don't you introduce me to your family then?" she asked changing the subject.

Edith nodded in understanding as to what she was doing. She motioned to the man beside her. "This is my husband Ellis. Then our children from youngest to oldest. Gweneth, Henri, Catrin and Crystin the twins, Owen, Andreas, and Marigold." she said.

Each person gave either a wave or smile as they ate. Edith chuckled at her twin daughters as they managed to get more food on their face than in their mouth. "This is your Aunt Mary and your cousin George." she said.

Owen looked up at his older cousin and grinned. It was cool to have an older boy cousin. Maybe he'd play with him. George looked down at his little cousin and smiled. "Do you like cars?" he asked.

Owen nodded his head in between bites of food. "Yes! Cars are so cool. Do you have one?" he asked him.

George chuckled. "No but our grandfather has several cars. Maybe after dinner I could show you the one he keeps here." he said.

Andreas looked at the older boy confused. "Doesn't he live here?" he asked.

Robert chuckled at his grandson's expression. "No Andreas. I live in Yorkshire but I come here often to see my sister and to enjoy the city life." he explained.

Andreas and Owen looked at their grandfather in awe. They couldn't imagine having more than one house at a time. Maybe their grandfather was a king of some sort.

Cora smiled fondly at the boys. "George after dinner you can take Owen and Andreas to see the car as long as a servant is with you and you watch them carefully. Then the twins can play in the nursery with the girls and the two youngest can play on the floor while the grownups talk." she said. She snuck a peek at Edith. She wanted to make sure she understood that she would tell them everything. She wouldn't allow her baby girl to run away again. At Edith's small nod the family finished eating and all went to their assigned areas after the children were cleaned off.

Robert and Cora led their daughters and son-in-law into the library and put toys on the carpet for the little ones.

Once the little ones were settled in the floor and the adults were all seated Robert turned to his daughter. "Start talking Edith. We have all night." he said sternly.

Edith gulped before beginning.

(This is AU from the point where Cora and Rosamund went to London to retrieve Edith and Marigold. All recognizable characters, places, and events belong to Julienne Fellows. Please Read and Review!)


	4. Chapter 4

Edith gulped before beginning.

"Well that night I packed my things and bought two train tickets. Marigold and I traveled for several days before we finally got to Wales. At that point I was broke so I went to an alley and camped out there for a few days. Then Ellis walked by and asked who we were before taking me to his parent's diner. He got us a place to stay and gave me a job. We became very close and I got pregnant. We got married a few months after he was born." she said. She didn't go into any details as she wasn't comfortable with sharing everything.

Cora raised an eyebrow. "You had another child out of wedlock?" she asked. She didn't like the idea that her daughter had once again slept with a man she wasn't married to.

Edith sighed. "Yes mama. I did. Then we got married after Andreas was born."

Robert gave Ellis a stern look. "You slept with my daughter even though she had a child and you were not her husband?" he asked. He couldn't believe a second man had taken advantage of his little girl.

Ellis nodded. "It was not my intention to sleep with her. But at the time we lived together and one thing led to another. I am so very sorry I slept with her before we were married. But I wouldn't trade my son or my wife for anything in the world." he said with conviction.

Edith smiled at him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Mary gave Ellis a stern look. "And what of Marigold? Is she some bastard you deal with?" she asked coldly. She hadn't meant to be so rude but her ex husband's new wife treated her daughters as if they were less than her children. She didn't want that for her niece.

Ellis looked straight at Mary offended that she would assume he didn't love Marigold. "Marigold is my beautiful little girl. I would do anything for that sweet child. In all truth I fell in love with her before falling in love with your sister. I love her as much as I love each of my children. She's my red headed angel and I wouldn't trade her for all the riches of the world." he said honestly. Maybe it had been the way that child had enjoyed throwing porridge at him or the way her grin lit up the room but he truly had fallen for that little baby before falling for her mother.

Mary smiled. She could tell he was telling the truth. Not that she wouldn't watch him closely of course.

Robert spoke up then. "Edith why were you living with him?" he asked her.

Edith sighed. "I was homeless. I had nowhere else to go so he gave me and Marigold a place to live. Although Marigold was often found cuddling with him in the mornings." she said with a fond smile. It had always cheered her up when she saw her daughter having a cuddle with Ellis.

Robert nodded and looked at the two little ones on the floor. He smiled fondly at them. Henri had Gweneth in his lap while he sang a song with her and clapped her hands together. He had missed so much of his daughter and grandchildren's lives. It saddened him that he had missed out on so much. He didn't even know she had gotten married. Did she have on a white dress? Who walked her down the aisle? Who all went? Those were all questions he didn't know the answer to.

Cora looked at her daughter and sighed. "Why didn't you come home with us that day?" she asked.

Edith sighed. "Marigold would have been taken from me. I know your plan would have had her with me but I never would have been able to claim her as my own. I wouldn't have been a mother to her. Not like how I wanted to be."

Cora sighed and nodded. She understood what her daughter was saying but she couldn't stand to lose her daughter all over again.

Mary walked over to Edith and hugged her. "I'm glad you're back Edith. I've missed you." she said honestly. She may not have been close to her sister but she had truly missed her. When Edith had left she became an only child and she had hated it.

Edith stiffened slightly before smiling and hugged her back. "I've missed you as well Mary." she pulled away and looked at her family seriously. "But I'm not staying here. I live in Soho and I will not go to the Abbey or here and live with you."

Robert stood up. "You're leaving us? Again!"

(This is AU from the point where Cora and Rosamund went to London to retrieve Edith and Marigold. All recognizable characters, places, and events belong to Julienne Fellows. Please Read and Review!)


	5. Chapter 5

(this is it! Thank you to all who has read and reviewed!)

Edith sighed. "No papa I'm not leaving. We live in Soho and I am running the Sketch. I will not be looked down upon as the pathetic sister at Downton. I'm sorry but I can't and I won't do that." she said. She honestly didn't want anything to do with the Abbey but she had missed her family and if living in Soho meant seeing her family every once in a while then she was fine with that.

Mary couldn't believe it. Her sister refused to come home. Didn't she know how devastated their parents had been when she had left. She refused to watch her mother break into tears throughout the day or to see her father drink himself into oblivion. Her parents had been doing so well lately. Mary wouldn't stand for anything causing her parents to once again go into that awful depression.

Mary looked at her sister with disdain. "You are leaving after just coming back into our lives? So what was this? Were you simply going to show us how wonderful your life is now then leave?!" she yelled bitterly.

Edith glared at her sister. "I was invited here by our aunt. And I never said that I'm leaving. I said I won't come home. I live in Soho. I will give mama and papa my address and telephone number. I'll even come visit you at the Abbey. But I'm not like you Mary! I don't rub things in others faces to show how better I am than them! That sister is you!" she hissed angrily.

Cora sighed as she watched her daughters fight. Why did they have to fight so often? Didn't they realize that they were wasting valuable time with each other? Have they not learned how precious time is? While on one hand she agreed with Mary. She truly did want you baby girl to come home. But on the other hand Edith was an adult. She had a family of her own. They couldn't expect her to simply come home and drop everything.

Cora looked to Robert who was watching the two darling babes on the floor fondly. They had missed so much. So much time lost. And for what? To have their daughter once again out of their reach.

Robert had tuned out the girls fighting. He knew it was irrational of him to say that Edith was leaving. But her absence had hurt him greatly. It was one thing to lose a child to death but to lose one to life. That was hard. At least he knew what happened with his Sybil. But with Edith he was completely in the dark. Was she ok? Was she alive? Was she happy? What about little Marigold? Those had been the questions that swirled around in his mind for 10 years. And now that she was back it hurt him. She had been ok. She was happy. But she hadn't said or even sent word to them.

Robert looked up at his daughters and sighed. They still fought over who was selfish and what the best thing to do was. He only wished he had something to offer his prodigal daughter.

"That's enough! Both of you." Robert said sternly.

Mary and Edith both stopped and looked at their father.

Robert sighed. "Now I know you Mary. I know you want to protect your mother and I from being hurt again. I know you miss you sister and only want what's best for the family. I appreciate that. And Edith I understand you have a family. A life. I understand that you do not wish to be the talk of the village. But Mary your sister has to think about her family and life first. And Edith you have to realize that you are the daughter of an Earl so you will always be talked about. Now I have an offer for you and your family. One I hope you take into consideration. I would like for you and your family to move into this house. No one else lives here. We could visit you. You could visit us. You'll be near the office and close to some very nice schools for the children. And we'll send word when we come to visit." he said.

Cora smiled at her husband in encouragement. She thought it was a fine idea.

Edith went to retort when Ellis spoke up. "Edith love I think we should at least think about it. It would bring you closer to your family. The children would get to go to nice schools. I think we could think about it tonight." he said to his wife.

Edith sighed and nodded. "Fine. We will discuss it and give my family our answer later." she said.

Mary huffed and stormed from the room. She simply wanted her sister back. Didn't anyone understand that?

Edith sighed and hugged and kissed parents. "I will contact you by the end of the week." she said before her husband and herself collected their children and left.

Once everyone was gone Cora leaned against her husband. "Our baby is home." she said with tears in her eyes.

Robert wrapped his arms around her. "She is. But she's not coming home." he said.

Cora smiled sadly at her husband. "She's not. But she's not running again. We're not losing our red headed baby girl again."

(This is AU from the point where Cora and Rosamund went to London to retrieve Edith and Marigold. All recognizable characters, places, and events belong to Julienne Fellows. Please Read and Review!)


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